


Dr. Universal's Sing Along Blog

by snowybluecat



Category: The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: F/F, Kinda, Songfic, changed a few things to fit the prom characters better, dr horrible's sing along blog au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2020-07-21 04:53:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19996177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowybluecat/pseuds/snowybluecat
Summary: Emma, an aspiring villain that goes by the name "Dr. Universal" has one goal in life: to join the Broadway League of Evil.Her plan to join the league runs smoothly until her massive crush, Alyssa Greene, starts hanging out with her arch nemesis, Captain Brawn.There has to be a way to stop it.AKA: Dr Horrible's Sing Along Blog AU





	1. My Wish Is Your Command

**Author's Note:**

> Names to clear up confusion:
> 
> Emma: Dr Universal  
> Greg: Captain Brawn  
> Barry: Sinister Swan  
> Dee Dee: Vicious Roosevelt  
> Angie: Wicked Zazz  
> Trent: Juilliard Malice

"Ahahahahaaaa!"

The last chord from the guitar is played as a girl wearing a white lab coat over a flannel shirt with goggles on top of her head, lets out her, what she thinks, is an evil laugh. This girl, who goes by the name "Dr. Universal," has been standing in front of the camera in a laboratory, playing a song she wrote on her guitar to post on her weekly updated blog. She coughed while putting down her guitar and looked back at the camera.

"Okay, so, I'm still kinda working on it. These songs definitely help me with my vocal chords, and that will help me have a better evil laugh, I guess. If I want to get into the Broadway League of Evil, I of course have to have a memorable laugh, but I also want to spice it up a little and have my own memorable songs. I mean, there's a reason why Sinister Swan is the leader of the league. He's singing all the time, so that means I should make my own music, right?"

The Broadway League of Evil was a group Dr. Universal has always dreamed of being in ever since she realized she wanted to be a villain. The group is led by a man who goes by "Sinister Swan," along with several other members, including Vicious Roosevelt, Wicked Zazz and Juilliard Malice. Those four were known to be incredibly famous with their extraordinary Broadway acting, but behind people's backs, they committed the worst of crimes. Oh, how she aspired to be like them.

Applications to join were open, of course, but knowing the amount of people who wanted to join and how high the requirements were, it would take a while for this little evil musician to get a response.

In the free time she has waiting to get accepted or declined, she posts on her blog, where she frequently uploads videos of herself talking about her upcoming schemes, plays her own original songs and answers questions asked by her viewers.

"This is day... I don't even know how many days it's been since I submitted my application. But obviously I haven't gotten a response yet. Anyways, uh, questions! Emails! Lemme just grab a few of those..."

She grabbed a stack of papers next to her, which were printed emails that contained questions from her viewers and fans.

"First question: did you succeed in blowing up the department store? Yes, I did. In fact, I still have some of the remains right here."

She reached down, out of the camera's sight, to grab a plastic bag full of ashes and some sort of slimy, green material.

"I didn't think the substance I made would actually work. You should have seen the place! All you could see in the remains were holes that were caused by this stuff. And I somehow managed to not get caught! Well, that was kinda obvious, because I wouldn't be recording this and instead I would be sitting in a jail cell. Don't worry, I got what a wanted. The money is... somewhere in my lab, but that would be stupid of me to tell you guys where it's exact location is. Long story short, I blew up the store and got what I wanted without getting caught. Next question."

The short-haired blonde flipped to the next printed email.

"This person wants to know why I didn't fight them at the park the other day? Listen here, person that wanted to fight, you're not my nemesis. I am not willing to do any of that type of stuff with anyone unless if they're my nemesis, who is..."

She shuddered just at the thought of him.

"Captain Brawn. You know who you are. Next question."

She flipped to the last page of the small stack of papers, reading the printed email out loud, voice almost trembling, knowing what the upcoming question might be.

"Dear Dr. Universal,  
You are always saying that you are going to show 'her' how much of a villain you truly are. When are you ever going to tell us who 'she' is? Does she even know who you are?"

There it was. The question she dreaded having to read.

Villains have more intentions than just doing crime and receiving rewards as a living. This little blogger just so happens to have a crush, no, a _huge_ crush on another girl. She was not afraid to talk about her in her videos, but there was no way she could reveal who she was. It's okay though, because she prepared herself to get asked this question ever since she started talking about her.

"Well, I, um, have a song about her, if that's okay."

She picked up her guitar again, clearing her throat in the process and strummed the first chord, getting lost in thought about this girl as she played the song.

Her name was Alyssa Greene.

The two girls would always see each other at the laundromat every week. They wouldn't even say a word to each other. The most that happens between them is the blonde sneaking glances at her, taking in the beauty of her features. She never thought her heart could almost thump out of her chest just watching another girl fold her laundry. Every time she was around her she felt completely different: like a fool, kind of sick.

One day, she finally took the courage to talk to her. Or, _tried_ to talk to her.

Alyssa was doing her usual routine. She walked in, washed and dried her clothes and folded them afterwards, just like any other person would do. The other girl walked up to her, mumbling what she was going to say. She really loved her hair. If she was going to say anything to her, she wanted to compliment her hair, one of the features that stood out the most to her.

"Um, I love, uh, your hair..."

The brunette turned around, realizing that someone was trying to talk to her. "What?"

Bad idea. Complimenting her crush became an instant regret to the guitarist.

"No, I mean, I love the... air. Haha."

The curly-haired girl smiled and went back to her routine. Even though the blonde completely screwed up what she was trying to say, it felt nice to finally talk to the person she has been admiring since day one.

Realizing how lost in thought she was getting, Dr. Universal shifted her focus back to her song. This song wasn't just describing her feelings towards Alyssa. It also revealed an invention she has been working on: the freeze ray. She sang and played a few more chords, expressing her desires and plans to really show Alyssa who she truly was.

 _"With my freeze ray I will stop the world._  
_With my freeze ray I will_  
_find the time to find the words to_  
_Tell you how_  
_How you make_  
_Make me feel_  
_What's the phrase?"_

She went on for several more minutes, putting more emotion into each note as she kept playing.

 _"I just think you need time to know_  
_That I'm the girl to make it real_  
_The feelings you don't dare to feel_  
_I'll bend the world to our will_  
_And we'll make time stand still"_

She didn't notice that there was another person who entered the room.

_"With my freeze ray I will stop-"_

"Hey, I'm back."

Finally aware of who arrived, the doctor turned off the camera and put down her guitar.

"Oh, Alexis, my evil buddy."

Alexis was Dr. Universal's so-called "evil buddy." She was the only person who understood her, or knew who she was without feeling ashamed of herself. Every once in a while, she might help with some of the aspiring villain's experiments and even help write some of her songs. The soon-to-be villain would've never gotten this far without her, and she was extremely grateful to have her as her buddy. The two were like peas in a pod, always there for each other and supporting one another.

The buddy handed her a stack of envelopes. "I got the mail for you as always."

The blonde accepted the stack and started rummaging through the letters one by one, anxious to see if the league ever responded or not. "I saw Alyssa earlier today."

"Really? Did you talk to her?"

Alexis couldn't tell if Universal frowned because she couldn't find her letter from the league yet, or if it was because she was upset that she barely initiated any form of social interaction with Alyssa.

"Barely. I was so close. One day I will, though. Give me a few weeks and we'll have the most audible connection anyone has ever had. Alexis, can you-"

Her sentence was cut off when she saw a familiar letter in her hands. She automatically recognized the seal and knew exactly who it was from.

"It's from Sinister Swan! Alexis, I think I did it!"

"Holy shit, that's the leader! Are you sure you want to-"

It was too late for Alexis to finish her sentence, as Universal immediately started reading the letter out loud.

"Dear Dr. Universal,  
I just got the application you sent in. I ask you to be patient, because it still needs to be evaluated by me and the rest of our team. If you want to have a higher chance of making it in, you should commit a heinous crime. We will all be watching you, every crime you commit. Once you receive your grade, it will be your last and final one, so do your best to get accepted.  
Signed: Sinister Swan."

Both girls stood in the same place in total shock. Did Sinister Swan, the leader of the most well-known villain league just say that Universal's application is being evaluated? _And_ they're watching her?

"Oh my god, it happened, Alexis! I'm about to officially become a villain, I can't believe it! You know what? I need a case of this thing called 'wonderflonium' for my Freeze Ray, and it's being transported tomorrow."

"Isn't it being transported in some type of weird car?"

"A courier van."

"Okay, well, do you need anything? I know you have some of those extra tools in the back of the lab."

Help sounded nice, the blonde must admit, but this was her one and only chance to prove that she was worthy to truly become a villain. Now that she knows the league got her application, there was no more time playing around or doing small experiments for fun. No, this was a test. This was her time to shine.

"Thanks, it sounds nice, but I'm being watched at this very moment. I gotta do this alone."

***

"Excuse me, would you like to lend a caring hand to provide shelter to the poor?"

Alyssa stood alone on the sidewalk, pen and clipboard in hand. Her goal today was to get as many signatures as possible to show that people were interested in building a homeless shelter. So far, barely anyone has signed or even made eye contact with the girl.

She was really doing this for her mother, who expects her to participate in doing community service or really just having a job in general. Back when she was in high school, clubs were the peak of her mother's expectations, besides making straight As, of course. She's been out of school for a few years now and lives on her own, but she still had to call or text her to let her know that she was being a 'responsible adult,' whatever that means. She was expected to tell her everything, ranging from what she ate that day to who she hung out with.

What her mother didn't know was that she was a lesbian.

It took her a while to figure it out, but once she heard of the idea from one of her friends (who was blatantly against it), it all started to make sense. Talking about boys was never her cup of tea, and because of that, she felt like something was wrong with her. 

Then she started going to the laundromat and noticed a particular blonde girl with glasses was possibly looking at her. She had to admit, she was really cute, but she never got the courage to talk to her. Just the thought of seeing her made her head spin in indescribable patterns. When she was approached the other day by her and was complimented on her hair, it made her heart flutter like it never has before. Her head must've heard the wrong thing, because there was no way her possible crush could have talked to her, so she had to pretend to not hear her to clear up confusion. Maybe she _was_ saying she liked the air, which would be rather odd, but either way, she was adorable. Perhaps she could see her outside of the laundromat one day and finally have a proper conversation with her. In fact, she doesn't even know what her name is.

Several more people walk by without saying a word. The girl, disappointed with herself, gave a few more shots.

"Would you like to sign this to help the homeless? You don't even need to read this paper, just sign."

No replies.

"Would you help... No? How about you?"

Still nobody.

Universal, not wearing her villain outfit anymore (now only wearing a flannel sweatshirt, a pair of jeans and converse), began to start her mission. Hidden in the corner of an alley, she took her binoculars out of her duffel bag and looked through them, getting an close-up view of the courier van that will eventually store her case of wonderflonium. The person driving the van exited the car, suitcase in hand. Perfect timing. Next, she took out a tiny piece of machinery, cylinder-shaped and silver. The small machine was thrown from the alley, flying and landing on top of the van. Excellent. Seeing that the cylinder was stuck on top of the van so it won't fly off, she took out a remote, resembling a phone. The small screen displayed the title "Universal Van Remote," along with three arrows pointing left, right and straight, and two buttons that said "brake" and "gas". A beep was heard from the machine, confirming that it was connected to the remote and ready to obey whatever directions she gave. She levitated her finger over the gas button, pressed it and powered up the car. Everything was going smoothly until-

"Excuse me, would you like to help-"

"Ah!"

Startled by the sudden interruption, the disguised villain let out a tiny, embarrassing scream and turned around to see no one other than Alyssa Greene, head tilted slightly to the side while gripping her clipboard and pen. 

It was like time froze the moment their eyes locked. Seeing Alyssa somewhere other than the laundromat and actually trying to talk to her made her face flush a faint pink, fighting back a blush that could make her face turn scarlet red. Alyssa looked beautiful as always, curly hair somehow managing to shine even though they were in the shade and dark brown eyes glowing as they were stared into. 

"Um, I wondering if you would..."

Alyssa recognized the blonde's face after inspecting it for a few seconds, admiring the hazel color. They've never been this close before, so seeing her like this made her heart beat ten times faster than it usually does. She continued to speak before she killed herself with how fast her heart was pounding.

"Oh hey, I know you! You're from the laundromat, right?"

The taller girl fought back her blush even harder now, knowing that the girl she liked actually recognized her. Could she ask for anything better?

"Yeah, uh, that's me. I've seen you around too. The name's Emma."

Emma. Emma was her real name. 

The brunette held out her hand, offering a, hopefully casual, handshake.

"I'm Alyssa."

Emma kept her hands occupied on her "phone" and let her eyes wander to the screen, unaware of the gesture Alyssa was making. If she kept looking at her, it would be increasingly obvious that she liked her, and there was no way it could be mutual.

The dark-eyed girl frowned a bit, putting down her hand and wondering what was keeping her so busy from talking to her.

"What are you doing?"

"...Texting. What are _you_ doing?"

"I'm volunteering for the Edgewater homeless shelter. May I talk to you about our newest project?"

Emma looked to the side, taking a glance at the courier van. Good, the machine was still attached and ready to go. She really needed to get the car moving, but she had to listen to whatever Alyssa was going to talk about. This better not take up too much time.

"Sure. Go ahead."

"Okay, so we're working on providing a building for the homeless with food, water and shelter."

The villain turned her head around, checking the car again to see if the owner came back with the suitcase of wonderflonium. No sign. She turned back to Alyssa.

"If we get enough signatures, we will be able to turn one of our old buildings into this new one we've been planning for several months now."

As the other girl rambled about the shelter's project and the benefits it will provide for the world, Emma turned her head around again. Still no sign. Her eyes flickered down to her "phone," fingers rapidly tapping the screen.

"Sorry. You're not really interested, are you?"

Shit. Yes, she was listening to every word she was saying and actually took interest, but with a mission so valuable to her, she had to keep track of all of her surroundings.

"Oh no, I'm interested. Sorry. I'll sign it."

The pen was handed to her as she took one last quick glance at the van. She wrote her name down with the ink on the blank line. Emma Nolan. The girl who's behind the white lab coat and goggles. The girl who commits crimes as a living. The girl who might get accepted into the Broadway League of Evil. The girl who loves Alyssa Greene.

Alyssa smiled in happiness and relief. "Thank you so much. I've been spending all day trying to get signatures and I've barely gotten any, so it's really nice having someone to listen to me. I'm glad it's with you, too, because I've noticed you in the laundromat and-"

Emma jerked her head to look at the van once again, eyes widening as she saw the owner come back with exactly what she was looking for: wonderflonium. All of her attention shifted to the suitcase, determined to finally complete her mission. 

The rambling girl stopped and noticed Emma was not paying attention anymore and moved on to whatever else she was staring at. Maybe she wasn't interested at all and just signed so she could stop talking to her. The conversation had to come to a close.

"Well, I'll see you around, Emma." She walked away, staring at the signature clearly printed in black ink on her paper. Emma Nolan. That name was going to stick with her forever.

Emma looked behind her, not seeing a shorter brunette girl anymore. She walked to another hidden corner of the street, unnoticed and gripping her duffel bag. Unzipping the duffel bag, she mumbled to herself.

"She actually talked to me... Wow... I'm sorry Alyssa, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do."

She quickly changed back into her villain outfit, lab coat draping over her shoulders and goggles strapped on top of her head. This mission was supposed to be Dr. Universal's job, not Emma's. When it comes to being a villain, Emma is not supposed to be involved, just Universal.

Dr. Universal looked at the van one last time, wonderflonium stored inside and owner outside, writing down stuff on a clipboard. She pressed the "forward" button, making the van drive by itself down the street, stealing the suitcase from its original owner.

Perfect. The plan was going great, like she expected. Just a few more minutes until she can retrieve the wonderflonium for herself and-

"Never fear, everyone. Captain Brawn is here!"

Great. Just great. The last person she wanted to see today. Or really, the last person she wanted to see any day. This would always happen whenever she was executing a plan for her own benefits. It would be going well until he arrived, destroying whatever she had and essentially "saving the town."

The hero jumped high and landed on top of the van, giving his signature smirk and hands on his hips. He raised his hand, clenched into a fist and punched the remote control receiver on top, disconnecting the car and the phone. The van still kept driving as he jumped off and went back onto the street.

Universal, aggravated but also not surprised that her plan got interrupted, looked back at her remote, repeatedly tapping the brake button for the car to stop. It kept driving down the street, almost running into several other people. Thankfully, no one got run over.

Alyssa was looking down at her clipboard until she heard the sound of tires screeching. She looked up and her eyes widened in panic, seeing that the van was driving straight towards her. Before she could think about moving, she was pushed to the side by the hero himself, landing in a pile of trash nearby. Captain Brawn held out his arms, and at the last second, the van stopped.

The villain sighed in relief. She finally regained control of the van again, so she tapped the brake button for it to stop before it ran anyone else over. However, it stopped the moment Brawn jumped in front of it, making it look like he was the one that saved Alyssa.

Universal walked out of the corner she was hidden in, stomping towards Brawn.

"Ah, Universal. Pleasure seeing you here."

"What was that about? You could have killed her! Is she okay-"

Her sentence was cut off by her throat being grabbed by his hands, squeezing tight as she struggled for air.

"I could be saying the same thing about you, doctor."

The rustling of debris was faintly heard. 

"Thank you for saving me, sir." Alyssa stood up and stumbled over several bags of garbage. "I would have been dead now if it weren't for you."

 _Bang._ Universal's head was slammed into the van's hood.

"I guess it was much better landing in a pile of trash than getting ran over."

 _Bang._ Her head was slammed again.

Brawn smirked and let go of the mastermind of the van, distracted by Alyssa's gratitude. "No problem, girl. A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do."

The two stared at each other and talked for a bit, not hearing the words Universal was growling under her breath. "Are you kidding? You pushed her into the garbage. I was the one who stopped the van. Stop looking at each other like that!"

It was too late. Alyssa was clearly interested in the man and believed he actually saved her. This wasn't how the plan was supposed to work out at all. She was supposed to take the van somewhere else without stopping, take the suitcase, use her freeze ray and get the girl she wanted. But now the complete opposite was happening. Why was she looking at him like that? She could have sworn she might have taken some sort of interest in her, based on the way they talked on the street. This had to be a dream. There was no way this could be real.

Seeing that the two were distracted talking to each other and not paying attention to her anymore, Universal went into the van, grabbed the suitcase of wonderflonium (at least she got _something_ she wanted) and ran away as fast as she could, blinking away the tears forming in her eyes and holding back a sob. 

"This is stupid."


	2. On the Rise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma gets closer with Alyssa and starts observing Captain Brawn's relationship with her.  
> Meanwhile, the Broadway League of Evil reconsiders accepting her into their team, but only under one condition.

Complete and utter silence.

Today's blog post had no introduction, no answering questions, no update on whether she got accepted into the league or not. No, today Dr. Universal was staring at the camera in defeat, eyes still red from crying for what felt like hours. 

"The human kind has gone insane. Even an idiot with half a brain would understand that."

Right. Because there's Alyssa. And she was the only person that made her feel even a speck of happiness. But now, all of those hopes and dreams were shattered apart and crashed to the ground.

Emma had been observing her and Captain Brawn for the past few days. Alyssa had been working with the Edgewater homeless shelter group and discussing her petition with others, which is great and all, but now she's spending all of her free time there. With Brawn.

She recalled a past night where she walked by herself in the dark and made her way to the building, only to look through the window and find Alyssa sitting at a table across from Brawn, chatting and eating dinner. The two were smiling, getting along and talking to the homeless, who ate the same food as them and were also provided clothes and water. You could even say it looked like a date. 

Jesus.

Why couldn't she be in his place?

The worst part was that Alyssa looked so happy. Her smile lit up the whole place, without a care in the world. Seeing her like that was so bittersweet to Emma. She could stare at Alyssa smiling forever, but seeing her with someone else, especially a man, made her heart crack a bit. At this rate, her heart could just shatter into tiny pieces, and there would be nothing to put it back together.

Before she had the urge to break out into tears again, she walked away from the building, head down, feeling invisible and worthless. She didn't care about anything anymore. She didn't care about herself. She didn't care about anyone else. She didn't care about her blog. She didn't care about her songs.

The world is a terrible, terrible place.

Alyssa looked up from her bowl, smiling at Captain Brawn. She couldn't believe her eyes. Everything around her, all of the joy filling the room, was because of her. She started to lose hope the moment the project came to idea, knowing that there were people that wouldn't even pay attention to the issues of the world and flat out ignore them. But she did it. She convinced people to help the community, all with a signature. Sure, they might've not have paid attention and just signed to get over with, but it still felt great. It was the feeling of success. Her mother would be proud.

"Isn't this great, Brawn? We're changing the world at this very moment. I didn't think it would work out at first, but if I get just a few more signatures, it might happen!"

Brawn stared into her eyes, smirking and eating from his bowl. "Yeah, you did such a great job, Alyssa. It was all thanks to you."

Hanging out with Captain Brawn was nice, she had to admit, but she didn't feel the same way towards him than her feelings for Emma. Although the two have only had one real conversation, she could go on and on about how amazing it was. It's obvious that Emma doesn't like her back though. She was clearly busy texting someone else and looking behind her, distracted by something else that was much more important than signing her petition. She probably likes someone else, but just thinking about that made her heart ache a little. She couldn't wait to see her at the laundromat again.

The smiling girl got up and spoke to a few people, making sure they had enough food and felt comfortable where they were. It felt incredible knowing big issues like homelessness can be resolved. Soon, another building will be built just for them. She got up and walked back to the buff man, beaming with glee.

"Maybe there's good in everybody's heart after all. All you have to do is keep your hopes up, and bam, something great will happen. The world is growing wise, and there's some harmony within it. I can just feel it."

Realizing that she's completely lost in thought, Universal snapped out of her daydreaming, still staring at the camera and making sure she wasn't crying anymore. Without a word, she took out her guitar and played her newest song.

_"I cannot believe my eyes_  
_How the world's filled with filth and lies._  
_But it's plain to see_  
_Evil inside of me_  
_Is on the rise."_

She didn't want to continue anymore. She just wanted to sleep forever and never wake up. The only thing that would make her happy would be if she got accepted into the Broadway League of Evil, but god knows what they were up to.

The camera shut off, ending the video and leaving the musician standing in silence. This was a complete nightmare.

***

Emma managed to track down the couple the next day. They were sitting on a bench at the park, eating frozen yogurt and chatting away. The two seemed so at peace, it scared her. She was hiding in a bush right behind them, making as little noise as possible. As a villain, she has to learn to be sneaky too. At least that worked out.

"I'm glad there's someone else out there that understands me. Thanks for being here, Captain Brawn." Alyssa said, giggling at the amount of ducks and geese surrounding them.

Brawn struggled to make the birds disappear, but Alyssa thought it was hilarious. "Anything for you, Alyssa."

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

The couple got up from the bench and moved to a different area, completely oblivious to the girl immediately following them. They were too busy looking at each other to look behind them. They sat down at another bench, closer to the lake and having an admirable view. Brawn, thinking he has the chance to impress Alyssa, got up and got into an old, rusty paddleboat in the lake. He paddled along and made several shapes in the water with the boat, resulting in Alyssa smiling the widest anyone has seen.

And there Emma stood, alone on the bridge above the lake, staring at the brunette. Why couldn't she see it? Why couldn't she see that all that's left in the world is pure darkness, nothing left to live for? She didn't seem to care. Soon, darkness will be the only thing remaining inside of Emma.

Alyssa was the complete opposite. After discussing the shelter with several other people, she started to believe there was hope left in the world after all. She hasn't felt this happy in forever. If she keeps this up, maybe her life won't be so bad after all. There was no darkness inside of her. Instead, there was rapture.

Several hours pass and the two finally depart. Emma, finally not having to hide anymore, began to take a long walk home in the dark (again). About halfway through, she slumped against the brick wall of a building, closing her eyes and reevaluating what exactly she just saw for the entire day. Everything she wanted had to do with Alyssa, and now it was gone. She breathed in, trying to find the comfort of mother nature's air. It used to be her method of calming down, but now the air just felt like it was drenched in hopelessness. 

Truly, evil inside of her had been on the rise.

***

"Wow, I can't believe we've both been going here forever and we're _just now_ talking."

Alyssa was incredibly happy seeing Emma at the laundromat again, finally feeling comfortable talking to her. She was speaking the truth. She doesn't even remember when she first started going to the place or when she first saw Emma. Why didn't they talk before? 

Emma folded her several flannel shirts and jeans. "Yeah, we were stuck here doing a really boring chore that we can't afford to do at home. It would've been nice to have someone to talk to."

"Oh, well, I like laundry."

The blonde panicked internally and quickly changed her attitude. "Haha, just kidding! I like laundry too."

They continued to do their "boring chores" until Emma took out a shopping bag with two cups of frozen treats.

"Huh, that's weird. They gave me two frozen yogurts, but I only asked for one. Do you happen to like frozen yogurt at any chance?"

It's not like she stalked her and Brawn the other day to find out she loved this dessert.

Alyssa's eyes lit up. "I love frozen yogurt! Thanks."

The brunette happily accepted the cup of yogurt and plastic spoon handed to her as the blonde began to dig into her portion and bring up another topic.

"So how was your weekend? Did you hunt for more signatures?"

Alyssa didn't know how to describe what her and Brawn's little hang-out at the park was. She really liked him, but not in _that_ way. But what if her friends asked about him? What if her mother asked about him? It became increasingly obvious that he's been hitting on her. Besides, Emma probably doesn't share the same feelings as her, right?

"Actually... I went on a date."

So it was true then; the two were dating. Emma let out a mix of a giggle and a sigh, trying not to show how much disappointment she was feeling at her saying that. "Oh, um, cool! How was it?"

"He's a pretty nice guy. It may not look like it, but he's really sweet when he's not trying to save the world."

If only she talked about Emma like that to other people.

The short-haired girl went along with what she said. "I bet he is. You gonna see him again?"

He _is_ a nice person after all. Alyssa just hopes that he doesn't start making any moves on her. She wants to hang out with Emma, but she always seems like she's busy with something. Asking her out right now wasn't the best time.

"Yeah, I think I will."

A moment of awkward silence pass between them. Emma couldn't stop staring at Alyssa. They barely got to see each other, so moments like these were like a gift from heaven.

"...Emma?"

She blushed a slight shade of pink. "Yeah?"

"You're stabbing your leg with your spoon."

Emma looked down, hands sweating, noticing that she was gripping her spoon extremely tight, and it felt like it was inches deep into her thigh. It kinda hurt for a little plastic spoon.

"Oh, why would you look at that."

The two girls laughed awkwardly and continued to eat their sweet treats without a word. Even though Emma's feelings towards Alyssa most likely isn't mutual, she was glad to have moments like these with her.

***

"After several weeks... or months? It feels like forever. The freeze ray is complete!"

Dr. Universal, back in her lab with the camera in front of her, gestured to the complex ray behind her, along with the silver suitcase she acquired on her last mission.

"I also got a case of wonderflonium, as you can see here. I got it on my last mission and got to control a courier van and everything! It was so cool!"

Then _that_ happened.

"Until I saw my arch nemesis, which absolutely ruined my day. But wait! It gets worse! He made me lose control of the van and almost ran 'her' over. Yes, _that_ 'her.' I eventually stopped it, but he made it look like he saved her, and now they're going out on dates. I just... don't understand."

Before she rambled anymore about her sad love life, she looked at the freeze ray.

"Oh, right. Freeze ray. If this succeeds, I will make it into the Broadway League of Evil for sure! Just watch! They won't hesitate to let me in at all. I'll see you guys when I'm an official villain!"

"Okay. So I may have messed up. The freeze ray needs work."

Universal stood in front of her camera once again, face covered in a few bruises and goggles crooked on her head.

"I just learned that the official police department _and_ Captain Brawn watch my videos. I guess I have to watch what I say, because they were waiting for me at the memorial bridge. Turns out the freeze ray takes a few seconds to boot up and now I look like this. Don't worry though, because-"

Suddenly, she was interrupted by her phone ringing. "Sorry, lemme get this real quick."

A familiar voice was heard on the phone. "Hello, Dr. Universal. I saw that you tried to use that freeze ray of yours today. It had potential, but it failed, and that definitely won't get you into our league."

Universal sighed. She saw this coming. The voice kept talking. 

"The only way to get into our league now is to murder someone."

Murder. Why did that sound so wrong? She's supposed to be a villain, so murder should be no problem. But being told to do it didn't sound right at all.

"We'll be watching as always. Go kill someone, and you'll get what you want. This is Sinister Swan, signing off."

The doctor turned off her phone, eyes widened in complete shock. She mumbled something to herself right before she turned off the camera. 

"Oh my god... Sinister Swan."

"Hold up, _kill_ someone?"

Alexis fidgeted with one of Universal's tools, listening to her go off about her call from Swan himself.

"Yeah, you heard me." Universal said, pacing back and forth. "I mean... Would you do it? To get into the Broadway League of Evil?"

The evil buddy looked up from her tool. "Not really, no. I'm just a sidekick. I'm not even close to being qualified as a villain."

The guitarist sighed. "I don't know. I know killing should be an easy task for me as a villain, but it just feels wrong. I deserve to make it in, but why killing? Who would I even kill?"

"Well, there's this family a few streets down that I can't stand."

"I'm not going to kill a family, Alexis."

"Worth a shot."

"Shut up."

***

Emma and Alyssa were once again at the laundromat, sitting on top of the dryer machines and eating frozen yogurt. Emma had to find a way to explain her whole situation without revealing who she actually was, so she made up a similar scenario.

"There's this job that I really want, but I don't know if I'm qualified enough to get it."

 _"Of course she is,"_ Alyssa thought. _"She's amazing at literally everything."_

"I think you will, Emma."

Maybe just a little hint of her being a villain wouldn't hurt.

"I want to have success, power, achievements, like Sinister Swan."

Alyssa froze, a little frightened by the comparison Emma just made. "Wait, you mean like the leader of the Broadway League of Evil?"

Or maybe not.

"Yeah, well, I mean, no. Not like that, but you get what I'm trying to say."

The brunette tilted her head to the side, a little confused by the point she was trying to make. She tried to ignore what she said. "I've been rejected from many jobs before, so I know how it feels. I've even been fired a few times."

"Really? How could someone as perfect as you get fired?"

"Meh, I'm not as perfect as everyone thinks I am. Everything happens."

Emma frowned. "Not to me."

Alyssa looked at her, sympathy shining in her eyes. She hated seeing Emma like this. "You know, when I was younger I kinda felt the same way. I grew up pretty lonely, my father left, and it was just my mom and I. Then, my mom started being really strict towards me, like making me study twice as hard or going to bible camp every summer. I thought love was a fairytale and any sign of trouble was because of me. But then, as I continued to grow up and explore more things, I realized that there's color that can be found in everything, even in the darkest of times. If you think you're having a miserable life, there's probably people out there who have had it much worse. Your dreams are easy to achieve, but they may just take a while." She cupped the blonde's face. "Keep your head up, Emma, okay?"

Time felt like it stopped for Emma, seeing Alyssa talk about her feelings like this. She knew she had been through a lot before, but not this much. The blonde wished they could stay like this forever, and having her face touched like this made her face turn completely red. She leaned in a few inches closer, ready to capture her lips at any second now-

"It's like what Captain Brawn always says."

Oh goddammit.

Emma jumped back before making any further moves. What was she thinking? Alyssa likes Brawn, not her. She's straight, she has to be. Nice try, Emma. "Oh. Um, yeah, he's always reassuring people that he'll save the day. How are things going between you and him?"

"Good. He's pretty cool to hang out with. He said he would stop by soon."

You've got to be kidding.

Emma looked at her (nonexistent) watch and started making her way out of the building. "Why would you look at the time, I gotta go."

"Emma, what about your clothes?"

"Uh, I don't like the ones I washed, see ya!"

She bolted towards the door, but was blocked by no one other than Captain Brawn himself. Great.

"Woah, excuse me, young lady."

Emma froze in place. "Oh, sorry. Excuse me."

Alyssa walked over, happy to see that two of her friends were here. "Emma, this is Captain Brawn. I'm sure you may have seen him around somewhere."

Brawn smirked like he always does. "Ah, Emma. Alyssa talks about you all the time. You're her laundry buddy, I see." He glared at her and observed her face. "Have I seen you around before? You look oddly familiar."

"Um... No, I don't think so. I've seen you in newspapers and on TV but not in real life. It's a pleasure meeting you," Emma lied, adjusting her glasses.

"Guess what you two?" the man said, still giving Emma a suspicious look. "The mayor gave in to turn that abandoned building into a homeless shelter. The only signature he needed was mine."

"Oh my god, that's amazing! Thank you!" Alyssa exclaimed, smiling brighter than the sun. 

_Buzz._ The dryer went off.

"That's my laundry. I'll be right back," Alyssa said, walking away from the two, leaving them alone.

Emma wiped her hands on her jeans, trying to get rid of the sweat forming in her palms. "I gotta go now. Nice talking to you-"

She was immediately stopped by him grabbing her shoulders and whispering in her ear. 

"It was nice talking to you too, doctor."

Shit.

The villain clenched her fist. "...How did you...?"

"You got a crush on Alyssa, don't you?"

She stayed silent. How did he know?

"Listen here. Tonight, I'm going to take her back to my place and show her how much of a man I really am, and she's going to love it. I'm going to have her all to myself, just because you wanted her first. In fact, I'm going to take everything you ever wanted. Just give up now, Universal."

He made his way back to the door, followed by Alyssa. The brunette looked behind her, giving the blonde a small wave as she exited the building.

Emma watched them exit the laundromat, no words left. She smirked and let out a small giggle, similar to her villain laugh she's been working on. 

She came up with a brilliant plan.

Back in her lab, dressed in her lab coat and goggles, Dr. Universal sat on her couch, laughing and talking to herself.

"Ahahaha, why didn't I think of this before? I'm so stupid."

She looked over at the table, where she kept a bracelet Alyssa once made for her at the laundromat. They were bored one day and decided to make little bracelets while they waited for their laundry. That bracelet became a part of her.

"I'll show you how evil I really am, Alyssa. You'll be so proud of me. I'll make it in for sure."

Next, she found an old newspaper lying around, displaying pictures of Brawn saving the town.

"Oh, and I'll definitely show _you_ how much of a villain I am. You know what? I forgive you for constantly beating me up until I get unconscious. Many of my crimes were never successful because of you, but that's okay."

Then, she pulled out the letter she received a few days ago from the Broadway League of Evil, where they said her application was being evaluated.

"Of course I didn't forget about you, Swan. This plan is going to be perfect, and you'll be so impressed that you'll have no choice but to let me in."

She couldn't help but laugh again.

The girl got up from the couch and set up her camera, recording another video for her blog and taking out her guitar to sing a song she made up at the last minute.

_"It's a brand new day._  
_Yeah the sun is high._  
_All the angels sing_  
_Because you're gonna die._  
_Go ahead and laugh._  
_Yeah I'm a funny girl._  
_Tell everyone goodbye..._  
_It's a brand new day."_

And so, the plan was set.

She was going to kill Captain Brawn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prepare yourselves for the next chapter. It's not gonna be fun ;)


	3. Here Lies Everything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After getting the petition to build a homeless shelter approved, Captain Brawn becomes Edgewater's newest hero.
> 
> Alyssa thinks about her feelings towards her laundry buddy, while Dr. Universal works on her plan to kill Brawn once and for all.
> 
> Will she successfully make it into the Broadway League of Evil?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize in advance

The crackling of static was heard faintly in the background, playing the well-known tune of the Edgewater News channel. It was no surprise to hear what the two reporters were talking about today, or really, this past week.

"The mayor will be opening the new homeless shelter in the next few days and will also unveil the new statue of Captain Brawn," the man on the left announced.

"What a true hero," the woman on the right said. "It's a good day to be homeless. Let's see what some of our citizens have to say."

The camera cut to two girls, both wearing a shirt with Brawn's face on it. 

"He's so dreamy! We found a piece of his hair and his dry cleaning bill: four sweater vests! Look, he even signed the photo I have of him!"

"Oh, please, Kaylee, you know he's dating another girl right now."

"Another girl? Well I have a problem with her then, Shelby!"

"We ALL have a problem with her. And I think-"

Before the girls got carried away with their ranting about this "girl," the camera cut back to the news reporters.

"Well, I think we can all say that the town is forever grateful for him," the man said.

The woman nodded. "The work he does for us is life-changing. Can't wait to see what he does for us in the future."

"Up next, we're going to look at-"

The screen cut to black.

"Ahahaha... They have no idea."

Dr. Universal put down her remote, laughing and walking towards another room, where she kept her newest invention.

It was still a work in progress, but she's been working on it non-stop for the last few days. If she was going to get into the Broadway League of Evil, she needed to put everything she had into this creation. This also meant that she had to skip a few days of laundry with Alyssa, which she barely managed to do. But this machine would also show Alyssa how much of a villain she really was. Not seeing her for a few days would be rewarding in the end.

It was a ray, but not another freeze ray. No, this was different. This was a death ray.

***

Alyssa walked down the street, laundry basket full of dirty clothes tucked under one arm and a white shopping bag held by her other hand. She just came back from meeting up with Brawn and discussing his accomplishment. Thanks to him, there will be blankets and beds provided, and the shelter will open on Monday. Being the narcissist he was, he gloated and shoved his success in other people's faces, accepting that it was all because of him. In all honesty, Alyssa should really be getting the credit here. She was the one who helped with the project in the first place, but Brawn was the cherry on top to finishing it. Whatever, she was glad it was actually happening. She could talk about this with Emma when she arrived at the laundromat. 

Making her way to the place, she walked by several people talking about the same thing. That's all they cared about now. If they ever talked about something else, they would just be talking about how much they wanted to date him and not "that other girl."

Alyssa liked Brawn, she really did. But not in the same way she liked Emma. She never got butterflies in her stomach or felt her head spinning when she was around him. She viewed him as more of a best friend than anything. She wouldn't be surprised if we was gay too. Every time she came over to his house, they would be binging Zac Efron movies and nothing else. The only reason why she said they were dating was so people could stop asking her if she had a boyfriend or not, and she hoped that it was the same for him too. Now, it was getting ridiculous. Her "boyfriend" was the new craze, and if people found out she was the one "dating" him, she might as well just move out of the city. For god's sake, she didn't even know what his real name was.

The brunette arrived at the laundromat, scanning the room to see if a certain blonde wearing flannel was there.

Nope.

It's okay. Usually, Alyssa was the first one to arrive, but she was just so excited to see her today. Her heart started beating rapidly just thinking of her.

Maybe she'll confess her feelings to her today.

Hiding her blush, Alyssa went to the washer, inserting a quarter into the machine and dumping her clothes in it. Now, she had to wait for a while for her clothes to be done and set in the dryer, and that time was usually used talking to Emma. 

The door of the building opened and the bell rang, causing Alyssa to immediately jerk her head around and see...

...Nope, Emma still wasn't there.

What was taking her so long? Normally, they would tell each other if they were going to be late the next time they meet up or not, so she should be here by now.

Several more minutes pass and Alyssa's clothes were ready to be put in the dryer, but Emma still wasn't there.

She sighed, taking out her clothes and putting them in the other machine and ready to wait what probably felt like an eternity. She sat down on the nearest counter, placing down her white shopping bag and taking out two spoons and small cups of frozen yogurt. Emma was always the one to bring it, but today, Alyssa wanted to surprise her and bring it instead. Obviously that didn't end well.

A few more minutes fly by and there's still no Emma.

Looks like this yogurt won't eat itself.

As she waited and began eating out of her cup, Alyssa couldn't help but think about that conversation she had with Emma a few days ago. Seeing Emma completely losing hope over a job broke her heart, and all she wanted to do was comfort her, hug her, and...

...kiss her.

But she couldn't bring herself to do it. What if someone found out about them? They were in Indiana, one of the worst places to be gay in. And who knew if Emma was gay or not? Oh god, what if Emma somehow found out she was gay and that's why she's not there today? She probably hated her for that, knowing the people in Indiana and how homophobic they could be. Now, just thinking about Emma made her tear up and want to cry until she came back. She was only gone for only one day, so why was she feeling this sad about it?

Because Emma was Emma, no one else. She loved the way she dressed. She loved the way she talked. She loved how she rambled about her problems. She loved how she fidgeted with her glasses and the buttons on her shirts. 

She loved Emma. 

God, she was _in love_ with Emma.

***

The last piece of metal was glued and hammered onto the now-completed death ray. This was it. This was what was going to kill Captain Brawn once and for all. This was what was going to let Universal become an official villain. This was what was going to let Universal win over Alyssa's heart. 

People always say that there's no happy ending; that's what they all say. Well, that was quite true for the soon-to-be villain. Everything she had ever done would backfire and give her the opposite of what she wanted, gradually depleting her happiness and desires. Everything felt meaningless from there on out; there was no point in anything. But now, it was different. No more time messing around. No more time to pretend. This was Universal's chance to build a brand new day. Forget about her past failures, this was a whole new beginning.

The blonde dug through the piles of tools in the drawers, searching for one very final touch to the death ray. "Come on... duct tape... where's the duct tape... Aha! I found- wait no." She kept shoveling through the tools until she encountered a certain slip of paper hidden on the bottom. She unfolded the paper and read the words written on it, instantly recognizing what was on there.

_"Laundry day_  
_See you there_  
_Under things_  
_Tumbling_  
_Wanna say_  
_Love your hair_  
_Here I go_  
_Mumbling."_

It was the song she wrote about Alyssa for her blog. This was before the two actually started hanging out, so writing songs were the only way to cope with her feelings for her. 

She felt terrible skipping laundry day today. Even though she was almost positive Alyssa didn't like her back, she still felt her heart sink thinking about her alone with no one to hang out with. She really should have told her she wasn't going to be there, but she was so focused on her plan that she had to work on it right away with no warning. It shouldn't hurt this much. Why was she hurting from just one day of not seeing Alyssa? She always spends several days in between laundry days without her, so it should feel just like that. She should feel excited for the next time she sees her. And the next time she sees her, she will see her true intentions and how much she loves her.

 _Love._ Yeah, that sounds right. She _loved_ Alyssa. She's loved her ever since she first laid her eyes on her at the laundromat. Who knew that just looking at a girl doing her laundry would make her heart feel like it's falling out of her chest?

After a moment of more rummaging through the drawers, she finally found the duct tape she was looking for. She ripped off a piece, took out her marker and wrote a single word in big letters on it. The ray had the words "stun ray" on it, but after attaching the tape on top of the word "stun," it officially displayed the words "death ray."

She took a deep breath and wiped the sweat off of her forehead from exhaustion. Everything was finally put together and ready to go. 

The doctor laughed.

"I hope you're ready, Brawn."

***

"In a few minutes, we will unveil the statue of our hero."

A small crowd of people were sat down in a small room, attending the opening ceremony of the new homeless shelter. The audience was facing a stage, where the mayor was speaking into a microphone on a podium, while Alyssa and Captain Brawn were sitting right behind him. In the very back of the room, there was a red cloth that was supposedly covering a tall statue of the town's hero himself, along with a few photographers capturing the moment. The audience clapped, expressing their gratefulness towards the man sitting next to the brunette.

The mayor continued to speak. "Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you your hero, Captain Brawn!"

The crowd broke out into applause as the hero swapped places with the mayor. Alyssa smiled, reassuring him that he was going to do great on is speech. She was excited that this day had finally come, but she still couldn't help but wonder what Emma was up to. Maybe she was at home, applying for the job she wanted. Maybe she actually got the job she wanted, which could explain why she wasn't at the laundromat the other day. Whatever she was doing, Alyssa hoped she was happy and enjoying herself. 

Brawn, holding a stack of index cards, was at the podium, smirking at the audience. He stared at the cloth-covered statue in the back, wondering what it looked like underneath. For a second, it looked like the cloth moved a little, but that could've just been the air conditioning in the room. He looked back down at his cards and started his speech.

"Thank you, mayor. I appreciate all of the kind words." He read off of the first card. "I hate the homeless-" He flipped to the second card. "-ness issue that our city has been dealing with for several years, decades perhaps. Everyone should be able to afford-" He dropped his stack on cards on the podium and looked back at Alyssa.

The brunette glared at him. What was he doing? He practiced right in front of her several times already, and he made it obvious that he was prepared. 

_"Don't mess this up."_ She mouthed, tapping her fingers in anticipation.

Brawn lifted his hand up, but not to the point where the audience could see it. He gestured at the crowd and tried to point out the ladies already drooling over him.

Alyssa rolled her eyes. She leaned forward and whispered harshly. _"Don't. Mess. This. Up."_

He turned around back to the audience. "You know what? I don't need these index cards. I should really be thanking someone, and that person is Alyssa Greene. She's over here right behind me. Say hi, Alyssa."

The girl gave a small wave, a little embarrassed but glad she got some recognition. This wasn't what they rehearsed.

"Alyssa was the one that got me into this whole situation in the first place, and boy, was I glad to help. Yes, I'm glad to be your hero, but I think we all need some time to recognize the true heroes in this room: everyone! We're all fighting against something, right?"

Alyssa was surprised to see Brawn act like this. She was glad to see he wasn't talking about only himself for once. Maybe he had a caring heart deep down.

"Everyone's a hero in their own way. Everyone has their own type of villain they have to fight. Of course, those villains aren't as cool as the ones I fight, but you still fight for your life. So, I'd like to thank my girlfriend, Alyssa."

She shook her head. Yes, she was used to calling him her "boyfriend" and vice versa, but the only person she could think of being with right now was Emma.

Brawn continued to talk, eyes scanning the room. "Yeah, uh, we totally slept together."

Okay, now that was just too far. Alyssa covered her face with her hands and scurried off of the stage in embarrassment, running to hide in the back of the room behind the photographers. She wished she could talk to Emma at the moment, celebrating the grand opening with her instead. But hey, at least she got some credit.

"I'm the poverty sheriff now. And this sheriff thinks you're all heroes too. Even if you hardly do anything as a living, you're still fighting for something, wouldn't you say?"

The cloth covering the statue in the back of the room came down, revealing no one other than Dr. Universal, holding her freeze ray. 

"Say it with me now: everyone's a hero in their own way-"

The machine fired, blue light zapping out of it and directly hitting Brawn's chest, stopping his speech and making him freeze in place, eyes widened and mouth hanging open. The lights in the room went out, with the only source of brightness being the blue light at the ray's tip, making the girl's white lab coat glow in the dark.

"Ahahahahaha!"

The glowing girl jumped to the aisle, scanning her eyes at the terrified audience members. The crowd stayed silent with no words or actions to fight back with. They kept focusing on the intruder, almost absorbed in the aura of darkness she releasing.

The doctor snickered. "Look at all of you. It's amazing how so many people show up to this huge event just to witness the slaughter of a man. Why can't you hear all of these lies?" She walked up to the frozen Brawn, trying to hold back laughter at the face he was making. "This man right here. You all adore him don't you? He is not what you think he is. This is all just a disguise. Can't you see? The disguise is slipping." She stepped back into the aisle, smirking and looking at each side of the crowd. "Society is also slipping. No, _everything_ is slipping away." Her hand inched toward her large pockets. "So..."

Without warning, Universal pulled out her death ray and started shooting red beams of light at the ceiling, causing the screams of the people to be the only thing heard in the room. 

"Go ahead! Run away! Tell everyone it was me, Dr. Universal! It's my turn to win and get everything I ever wanted! This world is going to burn!" She fired the ray at the ceiling again. "Burn!"

As people were scattering and hiding around the room, she went over to a news reporter and looked at what they were scribbling on their clipboard. "Um. Yeah, there's only one R in Universal. U-N-I-V-E-R- yeah, you got it."

She turned back around and continued her speech. "Burn!"

The blonde looked around the room once more, trying to search for a sign of curly, dark hair. She mumbled as she started making her way to the stage again. "No sign of Alyssa, thank god. I would do anything to make her not see this. 'Keep your head up, Emma.' I will." She aimed the death ray straight at Brawn, preparing to pull the trigger and...

She hesitated. Why was she like this? This was her moment. This was _the_ moment. But for some reason, she just sensed something. Something that told her to stop. 

What was she thinking? Get it together, doctor. Just pull the trigger and get it over with.

Alyssa was crouching behind a chair, hidden in the corner of the room. She stood up and saw the figure holding the weapon that was aimed at her fake boyfriend. There was something that was so familiar about this girl. Her blonde hair, her hazel eyes, her voice. Was that...? No, it can't be. Emma would never do such a thing. 

Universal took a deep breath, gripping the ray even tighter. "Here goes no mercy..."

The blue light from the back of the room went out, making a noise that alerted the girl. She turned around and saw that the freeze ray has powered down.

"Well that's not good-"

Unaware of the effects of the powered down freeze ray, she turned around and saw Brawn, unfrozen and doing his classic smirk. Before she had time to react, she felt a fist collide with her face and was sent flying to the ground, releasing the death ray from her grip. A foot stomped on her and pinned her to the ground. She looked up and saw Brawn, holding the death ray, unamused.

"A death ray. I guess you got a little upgrade, Dr. Universal." He pointed it directly at her. "Let's see if this actually works compared to your other inventions."

Universal was choking and gasping for air due to the pressure on her body. She just barely managed to slip out a single word. "Don't."

"Yeah, yeah, warn me all you want, doctor. Thank me later."

Without hesitation, Captain Brawn fired the death ray, only to result in him being flung backwards and having his back hit the curtains of the stage. The death ray shattered, with several pieces of it flying around the room and landing in different places. 

The girl in the lab coat coughed and recollected herself, finally able to breathe again and stood up, looking at the "hero" curled up on the ground. He let out a groan that turned into a cry.

"Aghhhh I'm in pain! This is what pain feels like!" He yelled. "I need someone right now! Someone maternal! Get out of my way!" He bolted out of the door, screaming and crying for help.

For some reason, Universal felt scared to turn around. All she would see would be the people cowering behind chairs and trying to escape, which she was used to. But something wasn't right. She could sense something was wrong. She heard the sound of something dreadful. Like someone was struggling. Struggling for air. Struggling for _life._

Reluctantly, she turned around, only to see:

"Alyssa!"

And there she was. Alyssa Greene, the girl she loved, was sitting down, back against the wall and impaled by shrapnel from the death ray, eyes halfway closed and bleeding large puddles of blood. The blonde rushed over to the brunette and saw the amount of blood she was already bleeding out. It was too late.

"Alyssa?"

Alyssa's vision was already blurry. She was clueless of what was happening. One moment, Brawn was frozen in the middle of his speech, and the next moment, he was trying to kill the person that broke in. She couldn't tell who exactly was in front of her but recognized the voice and blonde hair. 

"...Emma...? Emma is that you?"

The blonde was already crying a waterfall of tears. This couldn't be real. This had to be some sort of set up. It had to be. "It's okay, just hold on! I'm going to get some help."

"Emma, are you alright? I've been so worried about you," Alyssa murmured, cupping her face and wiping the fresh tears of her cheek.

"Hold on!"

"Shhh... It's okay." She smiled. "Captain Brawn will save us all..."

She couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't hold it back any longer.

"Alyssa, I love you! Don't leave me!" 

But before the impaled brunette could open her mouth to reply, all signs of light, joy and life faded away from her eyes.

"...Alyssa? ALYSSA!"

She was gone. Alyssa Greene, the love of Emma's life, was truly gone.

Emma buried her face in her hands and sobbed like it was the end of the world. This was all her fault. If she got both of those rays under control, none of this would be happening right now. She killed someone, but not the person she wanted. Alyssa was the last person she wanted to kill, or even worse, witness dying in front of her very eyes.

She would have completely broken down if it weren't for the news reporters suddenly crowding around her and taking her picture. 

"Dr. Universal, why did you kill her?" They asked, filling up the room with the flashing of several cameras.

She wasn't Dr. Universal at the moment. Even though she was wearing her lab coat, goggles and gloves, she didn't feel like her. Right now, she was Emma. Being alone with Alyssa was what made her feel like Emma. Whenever she's with Alyssa, she got to talk about whatever she wanted without feeling stupid. She felt so understood whenever she was around her. But now, all of that has disappeared. Every conversation she had with her, every laundry day, every peaceful moment of silence, every moment eating frozen yogurt, every moment to just be herself; it was all gone.

The ambulance had already arrived at the place, laying out a cot covered in a white cloth.

Emma glanced at Alyssa one last time before scooping her up in her arms and making her way to the paramedics. 

This was really the end of her and Alyssa. She thought back to how she always mentioned to her that there was a job she wanted to get, but wasn't sure if she could meet with their expectations. Her victory was complete, but at what cost? The person she killed was the girl she loved.

This was the last time she was ever going to see her too. She _could_ go to her funeral, but there's no way that could happen. She might as well not leave her house anymore after this, knowing that people are going to start recognizing her on the streets and do the best they could to get rid of her. 

She gently placed Alyssa's body on the table, watching the paramedics walk off with it and leaving the killer behind.

 _"I'm fine."_ She tried comforting herself. _"My losses should be worth it. In the end, I'm going to reach my main goal. The world was already terrible in the first place."_

It didn't help at all, really. Emma was still a sobbing mess. Sniffing and wiping away countless amounts of tears, she gave a tiny wave as she watched the figures carrying the body get smaller and smaller in the distance.

"Bye, Alyssa."

***

"Girlfriend of Captain Brawn Murdered"

"Country Mourns Whats-Her-Name"

"Worst Villain Ever: Dr. Universal"

Those were the only headlines that appeared in newspapers for weeks. Alexis would bring home the mail as usual, and every time, Emma would see either a picture of her, Brawn or Alyssa on the front. Seeing Alyssa's face in a paper that claimed her as dead made her want to sob just as much as the night it happened, maybe even more than that.

The pain was inescapable. Apparently, the newspapers weren't enough to spread the news. Emma would turn on the TV just to try to relax, but the first thing that pops up is the news channel, talking about the same event and showing more pictures. For the most part, the news reporters were upset over her defeating Captain Brawn, not for killing Alyssa. It was bittersweet seeing that Brawn was defeated. She was glad that he would most likely stop trying to kill her or ruin her plans, but also unhappy that she had to sacrifice someone else for it.

Sometimes, her and Alexis would do a quick crime, like robbing a bank or stealing supplies from a store without interruption, thanks to Brawn's defeat. According to the news and the things she heard from the people she passed by on the street, Captain Brawn now goes to therapy and spends hours whining about whatever crossed his mind. The death ray completely traumatized him and made him act like a completely different person now, from a self-centered hero to a crying man-child.

Now, instead of seeing people wearing shirts with Brawn's face on it, they were wearing shirts with Universal's face on it. They even wore similar goggles that she does and managed to snag a few pictures of her. What a world this was.

***

Dr. Universal stood behind the large, grand door, donning in her new outfit- black gloves, a red lab coat (with a hint of flannel), guitar case on her back and goggles now covering her eyes. 

This was really it. The moment she's been waiting for ever since she was a little girl was finally happening. She was qualified enough to be a certified villain, and she was about to meet and join the Broadway League of Evil.

Maybe it was all of the drinks she had earlier that day (she attended a party earlier in celebration of her induction), but she felt so dizzy. In a good way, though. She just couldn't believe her childhood dream was actually becoming true.

Adjusting her gloves and goggles one more time, she walked through the door, only to see the Broadway League of Evil themselves, sitting at a table in the middle of a meeting. 

On the left sat Vicious Roosevelt, known for her screeching belt and making people lose their hearing from just one note.

Next to her sat Juilliard's Malice, known for manipulating people's minds and making them his servants.

Across from them sat Wicked Zazz, known for instantly knocking someone out with those antelope legs of hers.

And at the head of the table, there he was: Sinister Swan. The leader of them all. The one who watched over Universal on her journey to get here. 

Together, the four were unstoppable. Every night, they would perform show-stopping musical numbers, but then, they would use their abilities to commit the most heinous of crimes. Now, with the new villain at their side, you couldn't even imagine what they would be doing now.

The leader smiled and welcomed the new person that walked in. "Hello there, Dr. Universal. We're so glad to finally have you here. Great job on your assassination the other day!"

The newcomer grinned, holding back any form of sadness from that event. "Thank you, Sinister Swan. I can't believe I'm actually here with all of you."

Swan looked over to the guitar case on the girl's back and looked at the other members, nodding in agreement. They loved this girl already. "I see you have a guitar right there. Do you have anything you want to play for us before we continue our meeting?"

"Yes, I do."

The musician helped herself to an empty chair and unzipped the guitar case, taking out a brand new, custom guitar she got the other day and cleared her throat, preparing to play the first chord.

_"Now the nightmare's real_  
_Now Dr. Universal is here_  
_To make you quake with fear_  
_To make the whole world kneel_  
_And I won't feel..."_

Emma stood in front of her camera, out of costume and guitar in hand, recording one last video for her blog.

_"...a thing."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your kudos, comments and really just reading this fic in general! I had so much fun writing this and I hope you guys enjoyed it just as much as I did.
> 
> I wasn't expecting many people to know what Dr Horrible was or know what was going on in this fic, but it turns out there were more than I thought, which makes me incredibly happy because this musical needs more love.
> 
> Stick around for more fics in the future!

**Author's Note:**

> I know this is a really random au but I was listening to my theatre playlist and one of the songs from Dr Horrible came on so I was like "okay let's make a greenelan au out of this" so here we are


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